Limiting Leviathan Hobbes on Law and International Affairs

Thomas Hobbes wrote extensively about law and was strongly influenced by developments and debates among lawyers of his day; he is considered by many commentators to be one of the first legal positivists. Yet there is no book in English that focuses on Hobbes's legal philosophy. Larry May seeks to fill the gap in the literature by addressing Hobbes's legal philosophy directly, and comparing Leviathan to the Dialogue, as he offers a newinterpretation of Hobbes's views about the connections among law, politics, and morality. He argues that Hobbes is much more amenable to moral, and even legal, limits on the law than he is often portrayed, and shows that Hobbes'sviews can provide a solid grounding for the rules of war and international relations.